Word Play
by Sakura Fleur Miyuku
Summary: When 15 year old Ahiru gets a role in a play with a certain line, disaster strikes and they must find a way to wriggle out of this WITHOUT getting poor Ahiru turned into a speck of light. Disclaimer-Princess Tutu doesn't belong to me.
1. Consequences

A/N- I was planning on writing this based sometime in my other fanfic- meadow of memory, but it wouldn't really fit and I wanted a better way of transforming her into a human... but you can fantasize and make up some other way for her to turn back. Oh, and sorry if anyone is confused who read this before (highly doubted), I accidentally uploaded the first chapter to another story... mai bad.

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Another normal day at KinKan Academy...

"WHAT? I CAN'T SAY THIS!"

...or so you expected.

"Do you have any sense of volume, _moron_?"

"OW! Oh, hallo _your Highness_."

Fakir released her braid from his sharp grasp, as Ahiru breathed an exhausted breathless sigh (is it possible for a sigh to be breathless?) of relief as she picked up her dropped script.

"You know everyone can hear you. Anyways, why the scream in the first place?" Fakir beckoned.

Ahiru froze up, once again releasing the bunch of paper from her grasp. "D-Did you even... r-read the script?"

Fakir stared at her, ignoring the by-passers in the halls of the school's main building. He was thoroughly confused; she was so excited of receiving the main role in the school's upcoming play.

It was obviously bad if she was this shaken up by it. "No, haven't the time so far. Why, something wrong?" he spoke at last. Ahiru took a deep breath and handed him the once-again-received script.

"Read my last line, page 24," she spat out after a while of hesitation. He took the script and flicked through the pages. "I don't get it; you said you were really pleas-" he stopped dead in his sentence upon skimming through the lines and locating the final highlighted road of words. "Wait, y-you can't say this! I-I mean, to Mytho- Prince Siegfried..." he trailed of, fear over coming his over protective body.

No less than a month ago, Fakir had managed to return (his beloved) Ahiru to her human form after she had received a serious illness of which could easily kill off a mere duck in days. His desperation (and love- OW! What was that for, Fakir?) had succeeded to turn her back, as long as she wore a shard of a swans heart to keep her in that form. Fortunately, Ahiru had managed to make a few waterfowl friends during the days spent with (her beloved- sorry! Ahiru, I won't do it again...) Fakir, one willing swan named Grace accepted and enjoyed her presence, and willingly gave her emotion of hope for Ahiru's life. This however made Grace rather... dull. But it was all for Ahiru's sake.

"I know... even if my role as Tutu is over, I can't help but feel cautious about saying... 'the three words' toward him. And I wanted to spend as much time with him, Rue-chan and you, especially since they came back to visit for 3 weeks." Ahiru remained oblivious to the fact the part about wanting to spend time with Fakir had released a small tinge of red on his cheeks, but he quickly brushed it off. "And since Inu-san broke his arm, he kind of had to take his place and I-...I have to say..."

Fakir put his hand up in approval. "You don't have to remind me. Look, I-I'm sure we'll be able to wriggle out of this... we might be able to change the line or... anyway, I'm not letting your fate take control of your life. It'll be okay..." He nodded reassuringly. "...and stop looking so downcast. You know if you get depressed your gonna start taking it out on yourself... and if you don't look like that clumsy little moron we all know (and love- Ow! Sorry!), _we'll _get depressed along side you. D'you want the play to look like we were drunk hobos hired off the street to entertain the parents of thousands of students?" Ahiru forced out a shake of her head. "I think not. So go back to... whatever you were doing and we'll figure it out."

That was probably the most words she'd ever heard come out of his mouth. "Yeah. And besides, Mytho's not the one I lo-" she quickly clasped a sweaty hand over her blabber mouth.

"What? You need to learn to finish your sentences, you know."

Ahiru forced down a blush. "N-never mind! Just got a little side tracked! It's nothing! Really..." she assured.

"Hm. Whatever you say... moron," he muttered as he ruffled her hair and walked towards his next lesson. The bell rang and a slightly annoyed, dazed Ahiru was left staring down the hall at (I better not interrupt here...) Fakir, eyes scanning his back with a slight blush to her cheeks. "Oi, do you want a detention from Yagiko-sensei?" He called after her after seeing no response.

"...Ah! Sorry!" And with that she ran towards (her future husband- ack! Owowow! Sorryyyyy!) the ballet room, ignoring the cold stares of jealousy coming from... some of Fakir's strongest admirers as she walked side by side with him.

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I guess if I get one review, I'll upload chapter two. oh, and don't expect to see this too often- i currently have 3 stories going on- dinner time murder/lust, meadow of memory and this. it is hard. go read one of my other fics and REVIEW- review, please. thx.


	2. The Advantages of Limbs

A/N- Any of you confused about the last chapter- Ahiru had a line in the play toward Mytho- she had to say "I love you". Just in case. Oh, and I apologize for the length of the previous chapter. It will get better. Pinky swear. 'The Advantages of Limbs (can come in very useful when trying to walk)' was just a random title I thought of while thinking of how to say 'leg' in Swedish (don't judge me) and thinking what i would do if my legs were paralyzed. Oh, and I wanted to include some Fakiru fluff (OW! Fakir, it is not nice to hit people on the head with chairs! Fakir- it is not nice to take advantage of me for some kind of sick thrill! I'm not a p*rnstar! Me- you are now...) ...so, enjoy?

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_A lone figure danced by oneself on the surface of an abandoned lake, the scenery surrounding the anonymous figure slowly began to fade away, replaced by a large hall flooding with oblivious but recognizable people. They too possessed the sweet bliss of movement, taking advantage of it's ability to dance to heart's content. Their selfish desires angered the swan, of whom could only long and hopelessly amuse herself by mocking the elegant experts swift movements and make them her own..._

_...the many advantages of limbs._

Woken by a small thud in the room opposite his own, Fakir's eyes slowly stirred open after a few unsteady blinks. It took a while to see clearly, as his eyes were still unaccustomed to the light swallowing his vision. Slowly, his legs stirred into action as he reclaimed his ability to actually move. He stumbled out of bed, brushed past the door and grasped his hand around the handle of the door on the opposite side of the hallway. Peering inside, he wasn't very surprised to find a small (undeveloped) red-head regain her balance from the floor.

"You okay...?" he spat out coldly and in a this-is-normal-to-me way, failing at holding back an amused smirk.

"Ngh... yeah. Just had a weird dream. Do you know if Charon-san made breakfast yet?"

"He already left- what do you want?" he replied with a question.

"Oh- uh, I don't really mind... Anything?" Typical Ahiru.

"...you're hopeless. Pancakes it is." (huh... pancakes. How amateurish and original of me.)

He turned to face his new friend- the door. "Um... Fakir? About the play... We're doing a run-through today... what should I-?"

"We could just ditch class." he offered.

"Wah- but... we can't just run away-" she was cut off by his excuse.

"We need more time to think it through. I mean, the parts only got announced yesterday. We need a precise plan- maybe someone taking your place?"

"Hmn... shall I talk to Rue-chan about it? Maybe she could..." She rubbed her eyes harshly to drain out any threatening sleep.

"Anyway, get dressed (no authors comment. Sad face.) and come down to eat, we can talk over breakfast," he said as he turned his back again and turned the handle. As soon as she was rid of his presence, she pulled on some spare clothes and began her clumsy but common descend down the stairs.

She stepped through the doorway to find a table showered in plates of pancakes, along with their various toppings and some side dishes. "...And... how long was I upstairs?" she managed to pull out of her mouth as she was awakened from her trance and started to drool.

"Hm. I think you beat a record- I haven't poured the drinks yet. Well done." He said sarcastically.

"That was completely uncalled for..." she huffed, pulling back a chair. He glanced at her, a smirk invading his face, as he continued to gather glasses and poured the juice. He couldn't help but notice how much she'd changed these past two years; her face was more mature, her voice deeper, her chest-!

Fakir jumped as he managed to spill orange guts all over the table and up his sleeve.

_Oh God... do NOT go down that trail of thoughts..._

Ahiru tilted her head slightly seeing his tomato red face and the juice being rapidly absorbed by the cloth he pulled out a nearby drawer. "...You okay? Want me to help?"

"Ah- no, sorry. Just remembered something..." _Something disturbing and uncalled for, of which will never cross my mind AGAIN._

"Oh, come on." She stood up and snatched the cloth from his grasp- earning a surprised glance from Fakir. "I'll just get another cloth, you know..." He muttered as he pulled out another dry scrap of material. They both began to wipe up the remains of a decent drink, until their hands crossed (_finally, some fluff!)_ and Fakir could only stare as his hand was accidentally placed upon Ahiru's. A blush creeped across both their faces as the scene sank in- that they were holding hands. Fakir was first to leap back in surprise, Ahiru just stood there looking very taken by surprise. And if they were embarrassed by holding hands, how can anyone expect them to live in the same house...?

_Once Ahiru turned back into a girl, she found her previous dorm room was taken- leaving her no place to go. After several arguments over sleeping arrangements, Fakir finally agreed to allow her to sleep in the vacant guest room._

"S-sorry!" Fakir leapt back, releasing her hand.

"N-no... It's okay," she stuttered. The whole idea of talking over breakfast was practically pointless after that- they could only bluntly stare at their silver wear in silence. If there was something to be glad about, it would be that Charon _wasn't_ home at that point in time. That would have made things awkward. After several minutes of absolute torture, they actually got the courage to eat. Once the meal was over, they sat down in the living room to figure out a solution to their current dilemma.

"...So, what exactly are going to... do about this?" Ahiru spoke after a few minutes of brain wracking silence.

"Get Rue-san to take your place? But then- you two look nothing alike. People would see the difference immediately. Especially the difference between your ballet skills," Fakir teased.

"H-hey! That- you didn't have to- I'm not that-!" Ahiru stuttered to a stop.

"What did I say about finishing your sentences? Moron."

_I don't see how I managed to fall for a jerk like you, jerk. _Ahiru shamefully thought to herself.

_I don't see how I managed to fall for a moron like you, moron. _And that just proves how much these two think alike (Great and occasionally lust-driven minds think alike). If only he could have said that out loud...

"Anyways... maybe if someone else said it... and you mimed it?" Fakir suggested.

"Wow. You really do have a wild imagination. But wouldn't that be too obvious?"

"Hn... Anyway, Charon'll be back soon. We should go out and get some food, because _someone _ate all the bread," Fakir snorted sarcastically.

(Hn... anyway, the author's running out of inspiration. We should end this chapter and go get some dough nuts from the shop because _someone _went on a rampage and stole all edible objects in my house.)

"H-hey! It wasn't- I'm not that..." Ahiru protested.

"Moron," Fakir walked up and brushed the hair clinging on to her forehead out of the way- and only to ruin the moment hit her head softly and walked to the door.

"Uh- Fakir? You're still wearing your pj's..."


End file.
